The Hero of Time Returns
by The Hylian Rider and The Prince of Hyrule
Summary: This is the second version of the sequel to Battle for Hyrule. In this Link turns away from power and does his duty as hero of time, meanwhile the power he left has found someone else................ LZ pairing, mild
1. The choice

Hylian Rider: Ok, I just want to say that this is the first bit of romance I have written so don't start flaming me, I know the love stuff sucks.

Prince of Hyrule: Your telling me, you suck

Hylian Rider: Shut up! You helped, sorta, ok so I can't write romance, so what. Enjoy the story anyway please.

Chapter 1:

"Heltie." Called Zetherity and Link's rock exploded. Link used the impact to fly into the air rolling over and over at a dangerous speed changing his landing into a spin attack at the last second. The man, caught by surprise caught the attack in full. He lay on the ground holding his bleeding chest where there was an angry burn. Link dashed onward with the rush of victory in his mind. His sword flew point-first into the ground and stuck there solid. Link grabbed the man and used magic to blast him with a darker energy blast.

"I have discovered power. Do you think you can stand in my way?" Link asked. The man sent a stream of spells and Link but all were dodged or deflected with the upmost ease. Link had become the most powerful man in the universe. He ran back to the Master Sword and grasped the handle. An electric shock surged through the blade and burned his hand and he pulled back in shock. Oh well who needed the damn sword anyway, if it didn't like men with power that was it's issue.

"Now die." He sent three dark energy blasts at the man and called lighting from the heavens. All attacks hit the target. He lay wheezing on the ground. Link used magic to call an abandoned sword to his grip and stabbed the man in the neck. Zetherity now lay dead with his life's supply of magic up for grabs.

"LINK." The cry was from Zelda's lips. She had chased him down after Xilic told her what happened.

"Leave, I am power, I need nobody."

"Do you really believe that?" She asked, tears in her eyes.

"Can't you see what this is doing to you?" She conjured up water, Link saw his own image and saw a likeness of the Shadow, pain stabbed at him. What was power if it meant destroying all his friends the woman he loved and ruling in a death grip, what did it mean if power made him what he'd become what he'd been stopping for the last two years or so. Zelda walked up to him.

"Please I love you." She leaned forward and kissed him. Link relaxed completely in that moment. Link felt all of the powers he'd absorbed fly out of him. It was odd, he didn't rule over any more power, but his role as hero of time had been given more power, because it was what he had to do. He felt something wrong, he pulled away from Zelda, he didn't tell her anything about his choice, she already knew, he merely asked.

"What happened to Xilic?"

"That shadow's power infected him and there was a large fight, he lost and everything went wrong, he declared himself a dictator over all of Hyrule."

"He fell to power. That man got to him before I could. Come on!" He ran outside and whistled for Snowfire. What she said hadn't taken it's full toll on him just yet. He knew that he had to do his duty.

"Then I shall stop him, he is now an enemy of us. All we stand for." But suddenly Link felt a wind tug him and heard a voice say.

"Hero of Time, your part in this tale is over. Now you die." And pain entered every pore of his body, he was screaming writhing in pain, he was blind and couldn't hear Zelda, he didn't even know where he was, he kept fighting the pain, trying to escape willing anything, for blackness to come for the end, to die. Then it stopped, he woke on a large cloud he was wearing his normal clothes, but without the Master Sword or the Hylian Shield on his back. A man stood in front of him, Link looked over the edge of the cloud and saw Hyrule far below.

The man spoke, "Link, you are free to enter the afterlife, you've done well. Congratulations." The gate behind the man opened.

"Forget you, I am a hero, and I have defeated death more than enough times to explain everything." Link leapt down landing right where the castle roof was and saw Zelda at the foot of the doors, the Sword of Evil's bane on her back. Link leapt behind her and pulled his sword out of the sheath. She stared at him. It looked like she'd been crying recently.

"Link, I love you deeply, but if you keep doing this death and life again thing over and over again, I am going to tie you to the ground." He smiled.

"One of the downsides to loving me I'm afraid."

"Hate to break up your loving talk," Said an cold voice. "But I want the Hero of Time here dead. He can't threaten my empire!" Xilic was walking up to them, his long blade in hand and drawn, with a dark green cloak over his shoulders. Without waiting for the reply Xilic swung at him. Link blocked the blow, Xilic flung his sword backwards over his head to bring it crashing down on Link. Then his eyes grew wide, he looked backwards and saw Zelda holding his blade back with her own. Link swung forward to kill Xilic. But Xilic planted a solid kick in his chest knocking Link to the ground before turning and moving to take Zelda down. He would've done so, if Link hadn't jumped up and tried to stab Xilic in the back. The blow was avoided but narrowly.

"Please Xilic don't make us do this, we want to help." Zelda cried out.

"No, power has helped me. See if I need you!" he said. Then he lashed out at her Link blocked the blow.

"We were brothers, it was a good move, we are still brothers." Link told him.

"You are wrong, we _were _brothers but it was a stupid weak move of affection, we aren't brothers, we are foes to the death."

"I would've died defending you." Link said.

"How ironic, you now you get to die fighting me."

"Not today." Link used his magic to warp to the old Hylian cave the place they'd be safe for a while. He then kneeled and wept from loss and sorrow, Zelda sat with him and wrapped her arms around him.

HR: Well there you go, the first chapter, sorry it took forever, it is hard to write it, I hope you enjoy it, and for many unhappy people take notice that ZELDA ISN'T DEAD, YAY!


	2. Final battle

Disclaimer: I don't own the people or the speech from the matrix, or well you guys know what I made up and what I didn't

In the morning Link ran hard to the edge of the cliff Zelda was with him yelling at him. In the night Link had hatched the craziest idea that he'd ever had. He was going to die, again and come back, again, but this time he wouldn't be coming back alone. He reached the edge of the cliff, and leapt off, Zelda sighed and watched, she was scared but didn't know what else she could do, she accepted Link's odd adventures and had decided to stop questioning them. Link as usual landed in front of the man at the gate.

"You again? Third time a charm huh? Should I even bother to tell you to go in?"

"Nope, I can find my own way around thanks." Link ran forward to see several men and women who were relaxing sitting and talking his voice rang out.

"All men to me, hear me now, I hope you all remember how you did in your life because I need you to do it again." he got no farther in his speech before being thrown out of the gates.

"They didn't like the idea huh?" Asked the guard.

"No, no they didn't."

"Well you could always try them." he pointed to another gate much darker, it must of held the darker souls. Those of evil.

"You got to be kidding me." He walked into the other gates, this place was much less calm here fighting was taking place.

"I call forth the leader of this pitiful fighters." Link said drawing his blade. A demon stepped forward, Link knew nobody besides Xilic could beat him but this guy sure could scare him. The demon drew a sword of flames with handle that looked to be made of embers. Link ran hard slashed the thing's leg before turning and stabbing it in the back. Simple. Then the skin where Link had attacked started to mend and repair themselves. Link twirled his blade and swung again hitting the thing in the chest before stabbing it twenty three times in the chest. The thing went down and stayed down. Link then called for the loyalty of all the men, they gave it, thanks to their tradition. Link leapt over the cloud, again. The guard seemed to have given up on all hopes of any sanity, and waved him on. Link landed next to Zelda. She opened her mouth to ask, then closed it and shrugged. Link ran to Snowfire and rode to Xilic's castle with his followers close behing and Zelda behind him in the saddle. Snowfire kicked the doors open and Link flew off her. Xilic didn't take chances and sent his men to attack Link, Link sent his demons to attack the men who were attacking him. He and Zelda ran up strking at Xilic. The blow was blocked without the man turning to face Zelda.

Link began to start striking harder and fast, Xilic always kept matching him though, there was no way the either was going to let the other team get ahead. Xilic struck arching his fingers, then the pillar behind Zelda started to fall on her and Link used his own magic to split the thing in half. Zelda was becoming overwhelmed. She started to back out, tired. Link stepped in front of her and held his ground. Xilic knocked him down, driving him through the top of the fallen pillar and out of the bottom, and the Master Sword fell from Link's grip. Link stood and Xilic punched him upside the jaw, Link lay on the ground and coughed up blood, he slowly started to pull himself back up. Standing he felt another blow hit him in the face he fell face-up on the floor. Zelda ran in but Xilic used the flat of his blade and hit her hard on the side of her head, she collapsed on the ground. Link pulled himself up; the effort left him gasping. Xilic kicked him and he landed hard on the ground before slowly rolling up and crawling to a support to climb upward.

"Why, Link? Why do you do it? Why keep fighting?" Link kept moving to his support on the wall.

"Are you fighting for something? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom, is it for peace, could it be for love? All fake illusions made up by you pathetic rebels trying to fill meaning into a life that is without purpose, all of them will be wiped out by my shadow." Link grasped his handle and pulled himself up facing Xilic.

"Why! Why! Why do you insist on fighting me?" Link looked into Xilic's eyes. Eyes that were full of a lust for murder, for power, eyes that showed the power Xilic now held, and the few emotions that he could still feel, mostly anger. Anger that was so deep that nobody, not even Link dared to try and see where the anger ended for fear of dropping into the anger full of lust themselves. But Link looked into those eyes as he said loudly and fully.

"Because I must. Because I am the Hero of Time, because I choose to be. I fight because, I choose to fight you, because I don't fear you. Because I must fight you, I choose to. In me there is the difference to being dragged to your death, and walking to it with your head held up high."

"Who are you?" Xilic asked. The question was quick and quiet, with the slightest tad of fear.

"I am the hero of time, I control demons and deny death. I am the one meant to destroy evil in any form, I am the one meant to kill you. I am the one who will do what I must."

"If you are what you say. You are invincible. And you can't be, because you are merely human. Your only human. From this knowledge, I know you can be killed."

"If I go, you die first!" Link suddenly kick Xilic in the chest knocking him backward and making the sword fly out of his grasp. Link ran forward and jumped striking downward. Xilic managed to roll and avoid the blow. Link landed sliding on his feet. He came to a stop and the dust and dirt made a small cloud in front of him, but not near enough to block his sight from Xilic trying to kick him. Link dodged the kick but Xilic's right fist hit Link across the face. Link stumbled but stayed standing. Xilic turned around landing and kicked Link in the chest. The impact sent Xilic's foe flying into the wall behind him. Link then fell on his face. He slowly pushed himself up. Link was staring at Xilic, but Xilic was slowly walking to Link. At this time, all fiends stopped fighting. Xilic got with a half-foot of Link.

"Fool." The word was so quiet that Link barely heard it. Suddenly Xilic punched Link across the face. Blood leaked from Link's forehead and mouth, and he had many flesh wounds. Link staggered to his feet. He walked to Xilic in much the same way as Xilic had done if not slower. Halfway there Link picked up Zelda putting her arm around his shoulders. He finished his walk to Xilic.

"Now, you die." Link plunged deep into his magic, reaching into the levels of power he'd never felt before he didn't stop until he started blacking out from being in such flow with the magic. He converted it into an explosion of unspeakable magnitude. The castle vanished the armies of demons, trolls and re-dead were disintegrated. Link and Xilic were blown away with their bodies so close to the blast they were the most whole afterward, save Zelda's. Zelda did die, in Link's arms she awoke as the blast left him, she died knowing that the one man she loved loved her. The Master Sword was returned to the Scared place of the Temple of Time. There to this day it lays deep into Hyrule, Waiting for the next man who carries the soul of the Hero of Time. Link's part in this tale is over; but there will always be a Hero of Time, one who will again draw the ultimate weapon, for there will always be a need for the Hero of Time and the Master Sword which he wields...

End

HR: OK yes I killed Zelda but hey she died in Link's arms so it's all romantic and crap. Oh well have fun with it. Yeah sorry it's so short.


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